


Hot Summer Nights

by tonystarkssnipples



Series: Young and Beautiful [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Angst, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Summer, Tony is insecure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 09:30:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1382482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonystarkssnipples/pseuds/tonystarkssnipples
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony moves into the apartment directly across the street from Steve. Their windows face each other and there's a small piece of roof jutting out between them, connecting in the middle. As the summer goes on, they find themselves crawling out their windows to spend more and more time together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hot Summer Nights

**Author's Note:**

> I finally found the picture that inspired this story
> 
> http://nornhastouchedthebutt.tumblr.com/post/84628022454/avolating-timethekidgotfree-cuteys
> 
> (can someone please tell me how to make it so it doesn't look like a URL?)

The first time Steve saw him through the window was on May 31st. It was the last week of their sophomore year. Tony was walking around in a towel, his hair uncombed and un-gelled. He yawned and stretched and the towel fell lower on his hips. It was just high enough to, well, do it’s job. Steve had blushed and closed the curtain. He couldn’t have known that Tony turned at the movement and smirked.

The first time Steve talked to him was on June 8th. Tony was leaning out the window, lazily smoking a cigarette. “That’s bad for you, you know,” Steve said, only half joking.

“So they tell me,” he said, taking one last drag before stubbing it out and throwing it onto the small roof just below his window. Steve had one just like it and they touched in the middle. He always thought about what it would be like to have someone living in the other room so they could crawl out their windows to sit and talk. But Steve had grown up since then. “Night, Rogers.” Tony smiled that half smile of his and closed the window.

Up until that point, Steve didn’t think Tony knew who he was. They ran in different circles. Tony was an oddly popular science nerd and Steve was, well, Steve. He had never paid much attention to Tony, but he knew who he was and if he was being honest, Steve always thought Tony was kind of an asshole.

Steve kept his window shut and his curtains drawn for three days. Eventually it was necessity that had him opening them. It _was_ summer after all. He woke up in a sweat at three in the morning. He figured Tony would be asleep, so what’s the harm? However, as soon as he pulled back the curtain, he saw light shining out of the opposite window and an underwear-clad Tony sitting cross legged on his bed, scribbling something into a notebook. Tony’s window was open and, despite his better judgement, Steve leaned on his window-sill and called across the short distance.

“Don’t you know that summer is for _not_ doing homework?”

Tony looked up, startled. “What are you doing up? I thought you died or something.”

“What? No.”

“Well it’s the middle of summer and your window has been closed. I figured you were lying in bed, dead from heat stroke, rotting in a pool of your own sweat. Now that I know you’re alive, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were avoiding me.”

Steve had never been a particularly skilled liar, so he just shrugged. “What are you working on?” Steve asked.

“Science stuff.”

“Oh.” Steve wasn’t going to pretend to know anything about science.

“AI’s,” Tony mumbled, still engrossed in his work. As if reading Steve’s mind, he dumbed it down. “Artificial intelligence.” Steve stilled looked confused. “Robots, basically.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Then after a beat, “You wanna see?”

“Uh… sure?”

Tony got off of his bed, grabbed the bottle Steve hadn’t noticed before, and crawled out the window. Steve opened his window all the way and joined him. Steve had been progressively getting bigger—finally—and getting out of the window was harder than it was when he was ninety pounds soaking wet. 

“Careful there muscles. Don’t break the window frame.”

Steve felt the back of his neck turning red and he hoped Tony couldn’t tell in the dark. If he had, he didn’t say anything, and for that Steve was grateful. When he was on his side of the connecting roof, he sighed. “You wanna come here?” he asked.

“I’d rather not. I’m kinda drunk and I’d rather not fall to my death.” Tony put the bottle to his lips and tipped his head back. “Okay, I’m a lot drunk. C’mon, scoot.” Steve awkwardly stood and shifted his body so that he was next to Tony. They were close enough for Steve to smell the vodka on Tony’s breath, but far enough away so they weren’t touching. Tony handed Steve the notebook.

“I’m guessing this is it?” Steve joked, pointing to the drawing in the middle of the page. Around it were numbers and letters scribbled in non-legible scrawl.

“Very funny. Yes, that’s it.” Tony took another sip from the mouth of the bottle before offering it to Steve.

“Um, no thanks. I don’t.”

“I’m not gonna tell anyone,” Tony prodded. “And I’m not pressuring you if you don’t want to, I swear.”

Steve _was_ curious, and he could tell that Tony was being sincere about not pressuring him into it. “What the heck,” he announced before grabbing the bottle. He put his mouth on the nozzle and tilted his head back. As soon as he tasted it, he fought the urge to spit it out. He swallowed and gagged at the burn. “That’s _awful_.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Tony frowned. “I haven’t had access to the good stuff since—” he broke off. “For awhile. Um… bye.” Tony got up quickly, swaying a bit at first, before darting into the window and slamming it shut, pulling the curtain closed in record time.

Steve still had the bottle in his hand. He couldn't bring it back into his room. He was too scared his mom might find it (even though she never went into his room unless he was there), but he had a feeling that knocking on Tony’s window was in bad taste. Obviously something was bothering him. He frowned and decided on the lesser of two evils. He crawled back into his window, which was far easier than getting out, and went into the bathroom. He dumped the alcohol down the bathroom drain, then took a shower to fill to room with the sweet smell of his shampoo instead of the sharp scent of the drink.

It was past five when he finally crawled back into bed after shoving the bottle into the back of his closet. He would have to get up in a two hours to get to work by eight, but he figured a nap wouldn’t hurt. However, when his alarm startled him from his sleep, he wished he had just stayed awake. He felt more tired and laggy then he had before he went to sleep. He groaned and rolled over before realizing he hadn’t closed his curtain. There was a rectangular white thing flapping against the window. Curiosity got the best of him and he pulled himself out of bed.

When he got to the window, he reached out and grabbed the piece of paper.

_Sorry for being a dick. Same time, same place? -T_

So Tony had stumbled across the bridge some time in the past two hours, probably still drunk, to put a note on his window. Steve didn’t know what to think about that, so he grabbed a marker and a piece of paper. He slipped out the window and crossed the two inch gab between their roofs.

_Sure, but how about a little earlier. Not everyone is nocturnal. -S_

He ducked back into his room as quickly as possible. When he saw his reflection, he cringed. He had slept with his hair wet and it was matted to one side of his face. He groaned and got in the shower, already attempting to make up excuses as to why he was late. Again. When he got out, he saw that the note on Tony’s window was gone. The other boy’s window was still blocked off, and Steve was nervous the note have blown away, but then he noticed that there was another note taped to his window.

_Midnight. Don’t be late. Fried chicken? -T_

Steve had no idea what “fried chicken” was supposed to mean and he didn’t have time to write Tony another note to ask. He sighed and figured he’d find out soon enough. He went downstairs and grabbed an english muffin before darting out the door. If he ran fast, he might make it on time, but even though he was bigger, he was still asthmatic. What was five minutes?

* * *

“I got fired today,” Steve announced before he was even out the window. 

“Am I to blame?” Tony asked. He was still fussing around in his room.

“Yes,” Steve joked. His face was serious but he could tell that Tony heard the lie in his voice.

“Well, sorry.” Tony trust his hand out the window and Steve was amazed to find that, sure enough, there was a bucket of fried chicken in his hand.

“Wait, you were serious?” Steve asked, taking it.

“I don’t joke about KFC.”

“I guess not,” Steve mumbled, reaching in to grab a wing.

Tony handed out two cokes before climbing out. “Um… I guessed. About the soda. Sorry if you don’t like Coke. Unless you’re a Pepsi person, in which case I’ll have to push you off the roof.”

“Coke is perfect,” Steve assured. He wasn’t really big on soda, but Tony had gotten it for him so he was going to drink it. He cracked the top and started to chug it like water, but the bubbles shot up his nose and he was left to cough up the rest.

Tony started slapping him on the back, as if that would _actually_ help someone choking on soda. “You okay there, big guy?” he asked. Even though Steve was seeing spots from lack of oxygen, he could tell the distinct and obvious sarcasm in Tony’s voice.

“Fine,” Steve gasped when he finally was able to take a normal breath.

“Good. Would you rather water?” Tony asked. Steve nodded sheepishly. Tony didn’t pay it any mind, instead crawling in his window and returning minutes with an ice cold bottle of water. Steve sipped it carefully, allowing it to sooth his throat.

Tony drank his soda and ate his chicken while Steve sipped his water. The silence was comfortable, which was odd considering they were virtual strangers and one of them had almost choked to death on the roof between their houses.

“Why’d you get fired?” Tony asked finally.

“I was late.”

“And you got _fired_.”

“I’m late a lot. I can’t run as fast as I think I can.”

“You don’t have a car?” Tony asked.

“I won’t be sixteen for a few weeks.”

“When?”

“Forth of July.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“There are worse holidays to be born on, I suppose. Like Christmas. Christmas must be a horrible day to have to share a birthday with.” Steve nodded. He had never thought much about it. In his mind, Forth of July was kind of a lame holiday, anyway. It was the time when people would go on vacation and set of fireworks and stuff, but they had never done any of that, so it didn’t really matter.

“When’s yours?” he asked.

“May twenty-ninth.”

“That’s like two days before—” Steve trailed off. He felt kind of stalkerish, remembering the day he had first seen Tony.

“Two days before I moved here? Yeah. Um… I’m not _legally_ and emancipated minor, but, uh…” Tony took a sip of his soda to postpone finishing the sentence.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want,” Steve offered. He was curious but he wasn’t stupid. It was obviously something that bothered Tony. The way Tony ran away last night might even have something to do with it.

“Thanks.” Tony took another slug of the soda. “So, July forth. I have twenty-eight days to plan your party.”

“I don’t need a party.”

“Sure you do.”

“But we don’t know each other. Why would you throw me a party?” Steve asked.

“So you sit on roofs with other people you don’t know?” Tony asked. “I’m hurt. I thought I was your one and only.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Okay, fine.” Tony shifted his weight so he was facing Steve. He extended his hand. “Anthony Edward Stark. Sixteen. Science nerd. Reluctant billionaire.” Steve took his hand and shook.

“Steven Grant Rogers. Almost sixteen. Art geek. Um… poor.” Tony’s face twisted awkwardly. “What?”

“What’s it like to be poor?” he asked.

“Um… horrible?” Steve guessed. How is one supposed to answer that question? “What’s it like being rich?”

“Lonely.” Tony was back in his room before Steve could protest. He was left with the bucket of chicken and two half filled sodas. Steve got back into his room and tried to figure out what to do with the chicken. It was almost gone and it would be easy enough to finish it, but he had already eaten enough to make him feel sick. He put it on the floor next to his bed and crawled on top of the covers. He felt himself falling asleep in his jeans and dirty t-shirt, but was too drained to change.

The tapping on his window seemed to come immediately after he fell asleep, but he saw that the clock read 4:26am, so figured he had slept some. He got up and blinked a few times to focus his eyes. He was surprised to see Tony at his window, even though he rationally knew that no one else could have gotten there.

Steve walked over and opened. “Hi,” Tony said.

“Do you sleep?” Steve asked in place of a greeting.

“No.”

“You stink like cigarettes.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s pissing me off.”

“You’re the one that smokes.”

“Only when I can’t think, which isn’t often.”

“So why can’t you think?” Steve asked, crossing his arms. He was starting to get pissed off. He had been sleeping. He didn’t need the cryptic crap Tony was always dishing out.

“I don’t know!” Tony exclaimed. “Because, like… can I come in?” he asked. “It’s oddly chilly for June.”

“If you go change,” Steve answered, hoping it would drive Tony away. Maybe Tony would get the hint and go back to his own house and go to sleep.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Steve groaned and turned back to straighten up his room. Mainly he picked up the dirty underwear and put them in the hamper. That was a little bit of a no when you had company. It wasn’t long before Tony was at his window.

“Do I pass the Steven Grant Rogers sniff test?” he asked. “I even brushed my teeth, see?” Tony declared, blowing in Steve’s face.

“Yes you did. Sure, come in,” Steve grumbled. Tony obviously couldn’t take a hint, because he was slipping into Steve’s room. He fell to the ground with an unnecessary _thump_. “Be _quiet_. My mom’s asleep.”

“Well sorry for _falling_. I totally did it on purpose to inconvenience you and your mother.”

“Look, if you’re going to act like a jerk, go back outside and back into your own house. You do realize that it’s late, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. But see, I can’t sleep and not in my normal way. Like, normally I can’t sleep because I have all of these ideas buzzing around in my head and there aren’t enough hours in the day to get them all down on paper, so I _choose_ to stay up, you know? But then last night when I ditched you, I felt really guilty, so I tried to mend things with chicken and Coke, but that didn’t really work because I went back to grade A asshole and I don’t know what to do because I’ve never felt _guilt_ before. Guilt isn’t fun, I don’t like it.” As his monologue went on, Tony’s voice got louder and more frantic.

“Seriously, you need to be quiet.”

“Sorry.”

“So… why exactly are you here?”

“I’m not sure,” Tony admitted. Steve gestured toward the window. He was done with subtlety. “No wait, I um… I want to say I’m sorry. Out loud and not on paper. Because I feel really bad for everything and for getting you fired—”

“You didn’t get me fired.”

“I’m the one who kept you up all night and then you left that note and I know what time you had to have put it out there, so I know you were late because of me so I feel partially responsible and, um… I think that’s it.” He was out the window and on his side before he turned around. “Can we try again tomorrow?”

“Maybe,” Steve said, shutting the window. They both knew that Steve would be there.

* * *

“What is tonight’s snack?” Steve asked.

“Nachos.” Tony shoved them out the window. “The only thing I know how to make besides cereal, and I make a damn good plate of nachos.” Steve grabbed the plate and pulled his hand back.

“Ow! It’s hot!”

“No shit, Sherlock. Don’t you see that I’m holding it with a napkin?”

Steve honestly hadn’t noticed. He bunched up the bottom of his shirt and used it as an oven mitt.

“Nice abs,” Tony commented once he was out. Steve blushed and put the nachos down, covering himself again. “Yes, Steven Grant Rogers, be ashamed of your gorgeous body.” Tony pulled a chip out of the pile. Steve could tell by the way the melted cheese stretched after the chip that these _were_ damn good nachos. Tony put his in his mouth and Steve grabbed one for himself. “So, how goes the job hunt?”

“I’m working as a receptionist at the hospital my mom works at.” Steve sighed. “It kind of sucks because everyone calls me ‘Sarah’s Son’ but I need money and it pays better than McDonald’s, which was my only other option. What have you been up to?”

“I’m upset you haven’t told me about this before, Sarah’s Son. It’s obvious that you’ve been working there for quite some time. We’ve met on this roof every night for the past three weeks and you haven’t so much as brought it up!”

“Sorry, but you didn’t answer my question.”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

“Please tell me it doesn’t have to do with my birthday.”

“It doesn’t have to do with your birthday.”

“You’re lying.”

“Yes.”

“Please, Tony. I don’t want a big party.”

“I didn’t say anything about a big party.”

“Well, I just figured since—”

“I’m rich and have been photographed leaving multiple parties drunk off my ass that I’m some kind of party animal?” Tony picked some cheese off the plate.

“Well, uh… yeah.”

“I’ll go to them, sure, but I don’t really care for them. Mostly it’s just an easy way to get booze. If you’d notice, there’s a stunning lack of Facebook photos of me at parties since summer began.”

“I don’t really pay attention to Facebook.”

“Well then, I’ll fill you in myself. I have been a very good boy this summer, only getting wasted in the privacy of my own home. _And_ I’ve only been drinking quality liquor. None of that shit from the first night.”

Steve crinkled his nose at the memory. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he had come out onto the roof to see Tony’s AI designs. It seemed like even longer since he first saw Tony through the window. How could it have only been a month? “May I ask where you’re getting his quality liquor of yours?”

“I snuck back into my old house and smuggled it out. I had a lot in my room,” Tony declared. “Daddy was always happy to provide me with the best,” he muttered as an afterthought.

“Wait, hold on. Your dad bought you booze?”

“Uh… yeah. I’d rather not—”

Steve felt the walls starting to go up, just like they always did when Tony’s father was mentioned. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it.”

“You have to be curious about my daddy issues. I know you are. So I’ve decided to tell you. Because I trust you Steven Grant Rogers. I _can_ trust you, right?”

“Yes,” Steve breathed out.

“So when I was a kid, it was always full speed ahead. I was heir to the StarkIndustries throne. I was always skipping grades and I so much younger than everyone around me. I hated it, and eventually I said that I wanted to stop. I wanted to be with people my own age, so he sent me to a boarding school for the gifted. I dicked around for a long time so that I would fail my classes and get held back, so that people the same age as me could catch up.

“Finally I got kicked out the summer before freshman year. At that point, everyone was all caught up and I would be able to start high school with the right people. School is easy and boring for me most of the time, but I’m comfortable. Howard _hates_ me for it. Hates that I’m tainting the family name. And, um… my mom died really soon after I got back and since then Howard hasn’t been, um… friendly.” Tony took a flask out of his pocket and opened it, knocking back the drink. Normally Steve would have said something, but he could tell that this was hard for Tony to talk about it. “When I was five he used to take me in his lap, sloshed himself, and thrust his scotch at me. ‘It’ll put hair on your chest, boy. Make you a man’. So I’d drink it and I would hate it, but I would do it anyway because he was paying attention to me and I craved that. I _needed_ to be accepted by him.

“So when she died, we fought a lot and sometimes he would… um… he’d hit me. Places no one could see. It’s really hard to walk around school without wincing when you’re bound up because you have two cracked ribs.” Tony rolled his eyes. “Anyway, when you turn sixteen you can legally emancipate yourself and I was like ‘fuck yeah, can’t wait’, but he wouldn’t let me do it because he wouldn’t let a non-Stark run the company when the time comes. But he didn’t want me there and I didn’t want to be there, so we worked out an agreement. He used come to this apartment all the time with women who, you know, weren’t my mom, but then she died so he didn’t need it anymore. He told me I could just take money out of his bank account and we’d live happily ever apart. The only condition was that I never come back.” Tony tipped his head back, the flask to his lips, but he frowned. He held it out upside down and only a few drops came out of it. “I’m out.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. But remember when I said that being rich was lonely? Well… I was never accepted by my father and I could never tell who wanted to be friends with my first name or my last name.”

“It’s better than having nothing,” Steve argued.

“At least when you have nothing, people care about you for you.”

“Well _I_ care about you. I care about Tony. A lot. I don’t give a hoot about Stark.”

“Sure you don’t care about my killer nachos?”

“Positive.” Steve reached out, but then pulled back his hand. “Is it okay if I touch you?” He had never tried, but he knew Tony had a lot of boundaries and he didn’t want the other boy to retreat into his room like he had so many times before when Steve accidentally said or did the wrong thing.

Tony just nodded. “Like I said, I trust you Steven Grant Rogers.” Steve wrapped his arms around Tony and Tony leaned into his chest. Steve opened his legs wider and Tony got between them, pressing his body flush against Steve’s. Steve wasn’t sure how long they were like that, but when he looked down, Tony was asleep. Steve didn't have the heart to wake him up—he was well aware of Tony’s insomnia. He moved as much as he dared, got himself comfortable enough, and fell asleep as well.

* * *

They woke up when the sun started to blare on them. Tony covered his eyes with his hand. “What the hell?”

“We fell asleep.”

“Wow, thanks for filling me in. What time is it?” Tony stretched and his back cracked.

Steve looked down at his watch. “6:15.”

“Don’t you have to be getting ready for work or something?”

“I have Thursdays off.”

“Your birthday is next Thursday.”

“That’s why I requested Thursdays off.”

“Smart man.” Tony twisted and _something_ cracked, Steve wasn’t sure what. “Do you wanna relocate?”

“Huh?”

“Well, um.” Steve realized that Tony Stark did, in fact, blush. “I haven’t slept that well, uh, ever? And I think it kinda had something to do with you… maybe? And I’m kinda tired still and I was just wondering if, you… you know, could um—”

“Yes,” Steve interrupted. “Yes, I can do that for you.” Steve grabbed the plate of forgotten nachos and Tony grabbed the Coke bottle and the water bottle. Steve wasn’t surprised by Tony’s room. There were machine bits everywhere, projects half finished but not forgotten. He found the kitchen and put the dish in the sink. He figured that Tony would have piles of dishes and take out containers everywhere, but he didn’t. Aside from his inventions, the apartment was very clean.

He went back to Tony’s room to find that Tony was already in bed. Steve smiled and pulled off his shoes, getting in next to Tony. Tony immediately snuggled up against him and Steve didn’t know how to respond. When did this happen? When had they gotten so comfortable with each other? He wasn’t sure, but he was happy they had. He had never really had a best friend before, and he definitely liked it.

The last thing he remembered before he fell asleep was looking out Tony’s window and thinking _that’s how he sees me._

* * *

It was around three in the afternoon the next Wednesday when Steve opened his window and called over to Tony. Tony immediately turned down his music and went to the window. “Do you want to join my mom and I for my birthday dinner tomorrow evening?”

“Do I get you after? I still have a surprise for you.”

“Of course.”

“So I’ll see you, uh… later? Tonight?”

“Yes, Tony. You will see me later tonight. Same time, same place.”

Tony smiled and nodded. He went back to his bed and pulled his notebook into his lap, but he didn’t close his curtains. Steve watching him work. There was something about the way Tony looked when he was working. The way he stuck out his tongue a little to the side. The way he shut the world out around him. Ever since Steve had started sleeping with him, Tony had started to keep normal hours, which meant science during the day, Steve at night. 

The past few days, Steve felt himself counting down the hours until midnight. It wasn’t like he couldn’t see Tony at other times during the day, but there was something about what they did that made it seem… special.

* * *

“So Tony, you’re a friend of Steve’s?” Steve’s mom asked.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Sarah, please.”

“Okay.”

“How long have you two been friends?” she asked, scooping food onto each of their plates.

“Well, we’ve had some classes together the past two years,” Tony explained, not a lie. “And we’ve shared the occasional hello—” Also true. “—but we didn’t really start hanging out until I moved in next door at the beginning of the summer.”

“Well I’d love to meet your folks.”

Steve tensed up, afraid that Tony would try to flee. However, Tony weathered the seas like a pro. “My mom’s dead and I don’t get on with my father. I no longer live with him.”

Her face remained relatively calm, but Steve could tell that she was very uncomfortable with it. “Well then, feel free to come over any time you like.”

“Thank you ma’am… Sarah.”

As the meal went on, Tony started to open up more. Steve had never seen Tony’s smile so wide for so long. When they were finished, Sarah disappeared into the other room.

“You’re really happy,” Steve observed.

“I can’t remember the last time I had a conversation at dinner. This is awesome!”

Steve felt his heart clench in his chest. He obviously knew Tony’s story, but he was always surprised when Tony mentioned the little things Steve took for granted. Like dinner conversation, of all things.

There were sixteen candles on the red-white-and-blue cake. Steve blushed at the color scheme and Tony howled with laughter. “Two holidays to celebrate,” Sarah explained.

“Steven Grant Rogers, you told me you didn’t celebrate the Fourth of July! I call bullshit.” Steve cringed, Sarah’s jaw dropped, and Tony tried to figure out what he did wrong. “Um, I’m very sorry?”

“You watch your mouth in this house, young man,” Sarah scolded, handing Tony a piece of cake.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Now shush and eat your cake.”

Tony did just that.

“Is it alright if I steal your son this evening?” Tony asked when everyone had finished with their cake. “I’ve sort of been working on a surprise for him for over a month.”

“Will there be alcohol?”

“ _Mom_ ,” Steve whined.

“No,” Tony assured.

“Drugs?”

“Mom, _stop_.”

“No ma’am. If you’d like, I can tell you what we’re doing, but not here. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for Steve,” Tony offered. “But I would never put him in a compromising position or make him uncomfortable in any way.”

She smiled. “Have fun, boys.”

“C’mon Steven Grant Rogers, we have an adventure to get on with. Put this over your eyes,” Tony tossed him a red bandana. “And don’t even _think_ of taking it off.”

After being in the car for about half an hour, Steve started to feel antsy. “Where are we going?”

“Shush up, you. I _blindfolded_ you, do you actually think I’m going to tell you when we’re almost… ah, we’re here.”

“So I can take off the blindfold?” Steve asked, reaching up to it. Tony swatted at his hands.

“The only thing you’re taking off is your shoes, mister.”

Steve did as he was told and Tony grabbed his hand and lead him out of the car. Steve felt nothing but pavement until finally… “Sand? Are we at the beach?”

“Oh hon, not just any beach.” Tony angled Steve’s body and took off the blindfold. “Coney Island. I recall you saying a few weeks ago that you’ve always wanted to come at night, so… ta-da!”

“Tony… I have absolutely no idea what to say—”

“Nope. None of that boloney. You can say thank you, but you really don’t have to.” Tony chuckled. “I was actually thinking about tricking you into swimming, but it’s cold as balls at night.”

“Thank you,” Steve asserted.

“And, I have another present of sorts but—”

“Tony, please. You didn’t need to do anything. This is _more_ than enough.”

“Well, maybe I’m being kind of selfish with this next present.”

“You’re not making any…” Steve trailed off when Tony reached down and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Happy birthday, Steven Grant Rogers,” he whispered.

Steve leaned into him, and for a moment, they just stood there, hand in hand. “Do you wanna ride the roller-coaster?”

“Do you have to _ask_?” Tony took off running.

* * *

Later that night they went back to their respective houses. They said goodbye outside of Tony’s door. Steve promised he would be over as soon as he could and Tony smiled again. He  _booped_ Steve’s nose, to which Steve blushed every shade of red. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.”

Steve opened the door slowly. It was after the time when his mom usually went to bed and he didn’t want to wake her up. He was almost to his room when she spoke. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

“He’s a lovely boy,” she commented.

“He’s great. He’s amazing. He’s just… perfect, mom. He’s the most amazing friend in the world.”

“He calls you by your full name.”

“Yeah.”

“Where did he take you tonight?”

“We drove down to Coney Island,” he said, blushing. He didn’t want to keep Tony waiting, but he also couldn’t tell his mom where he was going. He sat down. Tony would understand if he was a little late.

“That boy took you out to Coney Island as a birthday surprise?” she asked, astonished.

“Yeah. We just walked on the beach and talked and then rode roller coaster and—”

“Sounds more like a date.”

“ _What_?” Steve shouted, maybe a little too passionately. “Tony’s a guy, mom, and he’s my _friend_.”

“That seems like a lot of trouble to go to for a friend.”

“Jeez mom. He’s filthy rich. He only thinks in extremes. I’m absolutely beat. Can we talk about this in the morning?”

“Okay, go get some sleep. I hope you had a wonderful birthday, darling.”

“Best birthday I can remember.”

“I’m happy.” She stood and kissed his forehead before turning to go to her room.

Steve changed as fast as he could. He was out his window and knocking on Tony’s within minutes of leaving his mom. “Tony?” he whispered. “Tony, I’m here. Open up.”

Tony opened the window. “But I’m a _guy_ , Steve, and I’m your _friend_.” Panic shot through Steve’s body.

“My mom is super christian. I didn’t want her to tell me I couldn’t see you anymore.”

“And _I’m_ the one who thinks in extremes? It’s not like you’ve been asking her permission to sleep in my bed every night, Rogers.”

“Tony, please,” Steve pleaded. Hearing his name without the _Steven Grant_ before it made him uncomfortable, even though Tony was the only person in the world who called him that. He reached in the window and grabbed Tony’s face. “I don’t think I could go against her direct instruction. It’s better if she doesn’t know right now. I can’t… I wouldn’t dare to do anything to compromise this. Now can I please come in?”

“No.”

“Please…”

“I want to go out there. I wanna look at the stars with you. All that cheesy romantic shit.”

“Oh how I love cheesy romantic stuff.”

“I’m not your mom. You can swear in front of me.”

“I love cheesy romantic shit.”

“Look at my baby Steven Grant Rogers, all grown up.” Tony smiled while Steve scooted back. Tony climbed out his window and stretched across the outlet. He cuddled against Steve, leaning their heads together and looking up at the stars. “Do you ever feel so worthless looking at the stars?”

“No.”

“Think about it, though. We are so small. Our lives are worth nothing. What is the point of our existence. The universe would be a much more beautiful place if it didn’t have disgusting creatures called humans roaming around in it.”

“Our lives aren’t worth nothing. My theory is that if you make the difference in one person’s life, then you’ve done something worthwhile. And you have, Tony. You’ve made a difference in my life.”

“You’re too cute for your own good.”

Steve turned away from the stars to see that Tony was already looking at him. Steve saw himself reflected in Tony’s eyes. “May I kiss you, Tony?”

“Yes you may, Steven Grant Rogers.”

* * *

When they got tired, they crawled back into Tony’s room and got in his bed. “Is this still okay?” Tony asked.

“Yes, of course. In fact.” Steve reached over to Tony and ran his hands under Tony’s shirt. “Let’s try something new tonight.” He started to pull Tony’s shirt up, but Tony’s hands shot down to stop him.

“No. Not that.”

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked.

“You won’t… you won’t like it. I know you saw me through the window that first day, but you weren’t close enough to see… it’s… bad.”

Steve kissed him. “Tony, it’s okay” Steve could tell that Tony wanted to believe him. He could only imagine what was under Tony’s shirt. If it was bad enough to make the notoriously shameless Tony Stark nervous, it had to be bad. Finally, Tony sighed. He put his arms up and allowed Steve to pull it off for him. 

Steve had to bite his tongue to stop from gasping. His horror must have been obvious on his face because Tony grew frantic. “Give me my shirt back!” he shouted. “I told you it was horrible. Please stop _looking_ at my like that.”

“Tony, I—I’m sorry.”

“Give me my shirt back and we can forget it happened.” There was something wild and panicked in Tony’s eyes, as if by showing Steve his scars, Steve would want to leave. Instead of giving Tony back his shirt, he ran his hands over Tony’s chest. He ran his thumb over various scars, coming to rest at the giant, circular one in the middle.

“What—what happened here?” Steve asked.

Tony curled in on himself to hide it from Steve. “It—it was an accident.”

“Tony,” Steve breathed. He put his hand on Tony’s arm, and to his great relief, he felt Tony start to relax.

“It was a Welcome Home From Boarding School present from Howard.”

“What did he do?” Steve asked, tracing over the edges of the perfect circle.

“He shoved the already broken end of a wine bottle into my chest. He, uh, had finished the whole bottle before he did it.”

Steve leaned his head forward and rested his forehead against Tony’s. “I’m so sorry.”

“Eighteen stitches. Howard made a house call to a private doctor because he didn’t know how to explain it to a hospital. Took 45 minutes to get all the glass out. Lost a lot of blood.” Tony rattled off these facts like he was proud of them. As if it was some kind of accomplishment. 

“You don’t have to be brave around me if you don’t want. You don’t need these walls you keep putting between us.”

“I’m not putting these walls between _us_. I’m putting the walls between me and the world. If I don’t… I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Okay,” Steve simply said. Tony’s smile was shy but grateful. He turned and got into bed and Tony did the same. Steve traced over Tony’s scars until he heard Tony’s soft snores.

* * *

“ _Hot summer nights, mid-July, when you and I were forever wild,_ ” Tony sang as he rested in between Steve’s legs.

“We’re sitting on the roof watching a movie, sweetheart. We are not, by any means, forever wild.” Tony had managed to pull out a TV and rig it so they could watch it while still curled up on their special spot.

“I beg to differ Steven Grant Rogers. We are very wild. We’re balanced precariously on a roof, with a TV hanging out of a window, in the middle of the night, hiding from your mother. We are _very_ wild.”

“Whatever you say,” Steve said, kissing Tony’s temple. “All I know is that I’m glad I get to spend these hot summer night in mid-July with you. Now, what movie are we watching?” he asked.

“The ever spectacular _Hannah Montana Movie_.”

“ _No_ ,” Steve gasped in horror.

“Jesus, I was kidding. We’re watching _The Perks of Being a Wallflower_.”

“Oh, I like that one.”

“I know you do. Now, shh, it’s starting.”

Steve’s fingers were laced through Tony’s as they watched the movie. The past weeks had been perfect. They had even begun spending time together during daylight hours. They had even gone out on a few dates.

When the movie was over, Steve shifted. His legs were stiff from sitting in such an odd position for so long. Tony shoved the TV back into his room and Steve went to get changed. It wasn’t long before Steve was shoving himself through Tony’s window. When they were cuddled together, Steve placed a kiss to Tony’s hair.

“Is it okay if we don’t see each other tomorrow night? I had to pick up a very early morning shift at the hospital and I do need to sleep.”

“Of course baby. Goodnight.”

* * *

Steve woke up the next night to a pounding on his window. The clock said that it was 1:30. The knocking was getting more frantic and Tony was whispering softly. “Steve, Steve. Please be awake. Oh god, let me in. Please open the window.” He sounded panicked. Steve sat up and went to his window. He pulled back the curtain to see Tony, panic written on his every feature.

“What are you do—?”

“ _SHH_ ,” Tony hissed and pushed Steve aside, tumbling into Steve’s room. “Close it. Quick.”

Steve did as he was told. Tony was curled up in a ball at Steve’s feet. When it was apparent Tony wasn’t getting up, Steve got down on the floor. “What’s wrong, sweetheart.”

“Howard.” Tony was crying and pulled Steve into his arms. His whole body was shaking. “He was pounding on my door. I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry I woke you up. I know you have work tomorrow.”

“No, shh, it’s okay.” Steve patted Tony’s hair. “It’s okay baby. Shh, you’re safe here. Did he see you come out here?”

“No,” Tony sighed in relief. “He was still outside but I wouldn’t put it past him to knock down the door. I figured this might happen at some point so I rigged a thing that locks the window from the outside and can only be opened with my fingerprint.” Tony realized what he was saying and was starting to figure out that he was probably safe. His crying turned into sniffles as he clung to Steve.

“Where’d you get something like that?”

“I built it. Don’t worry, I’ll only activate it when I have to. You can still sneak in to surprise me.”

“Okay, good.” Steve placed a kiss on the top of Tony’s head. “Do you want me to call the police?”

“No!” Tony shouted, desperately. “No,” he repeated, calmer. “The whole living situation isn’t exactly legal, so I don’t want the cops involved. Can I just… can I just stay here tonight? I promise we can go right to sleep and I won’t even be clingy in the morning.”

Steve nodded and Tony crawled over to the edge of the bed. “Don’t stand,” he instructed. “He might be able to see shadows.”

Steve knew it was ridiculous—the lights were off in his room—but Tony was terrified and paranoid and he didn’t want to do anything to make him uncomfortable. Tony was in the middle of the bed, tucked in and curling himself around Steve’s pillow by the time Steve got to the bed.

“You have a habit of making yourself at home.”

“Yes.” Tony didn’t move. Steve pushed him over to the side to make room for himself. Tony grumbled and scooted over. Steve was huge, and even thought Tony was _compact_ , he wasn’t tiny. They were smushed together on the twin bed.

“We’re gonna have to spoon.”

“Oh, so terrible,” Tony joked. He wiggled back so that his back was flush against Steve’s front. He hummed in content. “You’re warm,” he mumbled.

“It’s ninety degrees outside, Tony. The whole room is warm.”

“You’re a different kind of warm. You’re a good warm. Plus you have a fan. Don’t be such a drama queen.”

“ _I’m_ the drama queen?” Steve asked, but Tony had already fallen asleep.

* * *

When his alarm woke him up, he turned it off as quickly as he could. Tony stirred but didn’t wake, and Steve breathed a sigh of relief. It took him a ridiculous amount of time to get out of the bed, but he didn’t want to wake up Tony. When he was finally gone, Tony rolled toward where his body used to be. He made little grabby motions with his hands. Steve tucked the pillow into his arms, and Tony snuggled into it. He smiled and placed a small kiss to Tony’s forehead. Even fast asleep he was the greatest thing Steve had ever seen.

He went out into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.

_Tony- had to get up for work. Feel free to stay as long as you like. There’s leftover Chinese in the fridge. PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO EAT IT. I’ll be back around 4 and if you’re not still here (it’s totally okay if you are) I’ll come over to check on you. Love, Steve._

It was only when he finished that he realized what he had written. He tried to scribble over that very dangerous four-letter word, but it looked forced. He knew Tony could figure it out; he was brilliant, after all. He crumpled up the note and grabbed another piece of paper.

_Tony- had to get up for work. Feel free to stay as long as you like. There’s leftover Chinese in the fridge. PLEASE DON’T HESITATE TO EAT IT. I’ll be back around 4 and if you’re not still here (it’s totally okay if you are, make yourself comfortable) I’ll come over to check on you. -Steve._

He went into the room to place it on the pillow Tony had been holding, but in the time Steve had taken to write the note, Tony had somehow manage to spread himself across the bed, limbs hanging off the sides, his mouth open but still sleeping. Steve wasn’t sure where to put the note that Tony would be sure to see it, so he went back and wrote and abridged version on a sticky note and stuck it to Tony’s forehead. He could only hope that Tony didn’t thrash around too much and have it fall off.

When he returned to the kitchen, the first note was unfolded and his mom was reading it. Steve cringed. This was going to be fun to explain.

“I presume you scribbled over ‘love’.” She held up the first note. “Why is he in your bed?”

“I swear to you, it is not what it looks like.” And it wasn’t. Not really. “See, Tony and I started hanging out because he lives in the apartment right across from ours. You know the one that’s been empty for years? And he and I sometimes sit out there and talk and stuff. And Tony… his father… the reason that Tony doesn’t live at home anymore is because his father hits him. Last night his father came to his apartment and Tony’s crawled out the window into my room. I let him sleep there because he was scared and alone.”

His mother nodded along. “And what about the ‘love’?”

_Shit_. “Well, I originally put it there because I wanted him to know that he was loved because, you know, he was never really loved at home and thought maybe he’d need it. But, uh… I didn’t want him to take it the wrong way.”

She seemed to accept that. “Go get dressed. We have to leave soon.”

“Okay.” He walked back into the room to see that Tony was sitting up, staring at the door. He looked like he was about to cry again. Steve didn’t like it when he cried.

“How could you tell her all of that? You promised. No one but you _ever_ knew.” Oh, so he’d heard.

“Look, Tony. I didn’t want her to think—”

“Are you that embarrassed of me? That you’d betray my trust so you wouldn’t have to tell your mom that we’re together? It’s a good thing you scribbled over ‘love’ because you sure as hell don’t.” Steve didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. “That’s what I thought.” Tony sighed. He opened the window and started to climb out. Steve wanted to tell him not to go, but the words caught in his throat.

“Careful. It’s raining.”

Tony didn’t respond. Steve crossed to the window to make sure that Tony got in safely. Once he was sure that he had, he turned and got dressed for work. He spent the entire day at work trying to figure out how he was going to mend the gap with Tony. he had been wrong and he knew that, but he just wasn’t ready to tell his mom that. There had to be a way to make Tony understand that.

* * *

Steve walked a mile and a half with the bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Even before he left on this journey he knew the chicken was going to be cold before he got back to his room, but it didn’t matter. He hoped the gesture was enough.

Even though it had been raining that morning, the sun had come out somewhere around midday and dried the rain from the roof. He opened his window to find Tony leaning on the window sill, smoking.

“Can’t think?” Steve asked.

“Fuck off,” Tony snapped, not looking at Steve.

“I brought chicken,” Steve offered, holding the bucket out the window.

Tony’s eyes shot to the bucket in Steve’s hands and he could tell Tony remembered. However, it was only for a second. Tony’s face turned cold again and he looked away. “So?” he asked, before blowing out a long plume of smoke.

“Tony, I’m _sorry_. I walked a mile and a half to and back from KFC with this bucket of chicken because I’m really, _really_ sorry. I messed up, I know—” The window was closed before he could finish his sentence. He was about to retreat into his room when something in him snapped. He yanked open his window all the way and crawled to Tony’s room. He slammed on the glass until Tony finally came.

“ _What_?” he shouted, not opening the window.

“Open the damn window.”

“Why should I?”

“Because…” Steve sighed. Truth time. “Because you terrify me. I never know what you’re going to do. And you pretend you don’t care about anything, but you care so much. And I just know that you want to be _held_ and told _it’s alright_ and don’t tell me that’s a lie because I know that it’s not.” He searched Tony’s face for some crack in his armor. “I want to be the one to hold you and tell you it’s alright.

“You terrify me because you break all my rules. You listen to horrible music at horrendous hours of the night and you walk around half naked and you’re arrogant and you shower multiple times a day which is a total waste of water and you smoke which is the grossest thing ever but—”

“Is this going anywhere because all I hear is you insulting me.

“Yeah, but the thing is I don’t _care_ about all of that because you make me smile and you’re so strong and you are the best damn cuddler in world and you call me Steven Grant Rogers which is really weird but I love it and—” Steve throat tightened. “And I think I might be in love with you, which is totally ridiculous because we’ve known each other for, like, two months but—” The window was open and Tony was leaning out of it before Steve knew what was going on. Tony pressed his lips to Steve’s, and Steve was so shocked that he almost fell backwards. Tony smiled and reached out to pull him back.

“Don’t kill yourself before I get a chance to tell you that I love you, too.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I already have the sequel to this planned out.


End file.
